Jersey Law 12/1956
HIGHWAYS (JERSEY) LAW, 1956.
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1 Definitions
2 General
Prohibition
3 Power
of the States to grant Authority by Regulations
4 Power
of Highway Authorities to grant Licences
5 Offences
and Removal of things placed in Contravention of Law
6 Notices
7 Savings
8 Repeals
and Amendments
9 Short
title and commencement
A LAW to
control the placing of things below, or above highways, sanctioned by Order of
Her Majesty in Council of the
1st day of JUNE, 1956.
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(Registered
on the 23rd day of June, 1956).
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STATES OF JERSEY.
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The 24th day of
January, 1956.
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THE STATES, subject to the sanction of
Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have adopted the following Law: -
ARTICLE 1
DEFINITIONS
In this Law –
“by-road” has the same meaning as “chemin vicinal” in the 1914 Law and “main
road” has the same meaning as “grande route”,
in the said Law;
“highway authority”, in relation to a by-road means the
Roads Committee of the parish in which the road is situate and, in relation to
a main road, means the “Comité d'Administration des Grandes
Routes”;
“the 1914 Law” means the “Loi
(1914) sur la Voirie”, as
amended.
ARTICLE 2
GENERAL PROHIBITION
Subject as provided by this Law, it shall not be lawful to place
anything below, on or above any highway in the Island.
ARTICLE 3
POWER OF THE STATES TO GRANT AUTHORITY BY
REGULATIONS
The States may make regulations authorizing the placing below, on
or above the highway of things of such classes or descriptions as may be
specified in the regulations subject to such conditions as may be so specified.
ARTICLE 4
POWER OF HIGHWAY AUTHORITIES TO GRANT
LICENCES
(1) The
highway authority may grant a licence to any person
authorizing him to place any thing below or above (but not on) any highway
administered by that authority, and any such licence
may be granted subject to such conditions as the highway authority may think
fit to impose and to the periodic payment of such reasonable sum as the highway
authority may determine.
(2) Any
licence under this Article may be granted for a fixed
period or for an indefinite period, and any licence
granted for an indefinite period may be withdrawn by the highway authority on
giving not less than six months' notice in writing to the holder of the licence:
Provided that where less than five years' notice of withdrawal is
given and the holder of the licence is of the opinion
that he is prejudicially affected by the withdrawal, he may appeal to the
Inferior Number of the Royal Court, either in term or in vacation, and the
Court may make such order in the matter as it thinks just and equitable.
(3) No
licence granted under this Article shall authorize
the placing of any thing less than seven feet above a footpath or less than
eighteen feet above a carriageway.
(4) Where
the property in any thing placed below or above a highway under the authority
of a licence granted under this Article is
transferred, the licence shall, on application to the
highway authority, be transferred to the new owner by endorsement of the licence or otherwise, but unless so transferred a licence shall cease to be in force at the expiration of three
months from the date of the transfer.
(5) Where
a by-road below or above which any thing has been placed under the authority of
a licence granted under this Article is, by virtue of
Article 1 of the 1914 Law,
classified as a main road, the powers of the Roads Committee of the parish in
which the road is situate in respect of that licence
shall be transferred to the “Comité d'Administration des Grandes
Routes”.
ARTICLE 5
OFFENCES AND REMOVAL OF THINGS PLACED IN
CONTRAVENTION OF LAW
(1) If
any person places any thing or causes any thing to be placed below, on or above
any highway in contravention of the provisions of this Law, he shall, without
prejudice to any other proceedings which may be taken against him, be guilty of
an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, and,
whether or not any proceedings are taken in respect of the offence or
otherwise, the highway authority may remove the thing and the expenses
reasonably incurred in so doing shall be recoverable as a civil debt from the
offender:
Provided, that in the case of a thing which is placed below a
highway and which communicates with a property bordering on a highway, the
powers of the highway authority under the foregoing provisions of this
paragraph shall not be exercisable, but the highway authority may serve a
notice on the owner of such property requiring him to remove the thing in
question.
(2) If
any person on whom a notice has been served under the proviso to paragraph (1)
of this Article fails to comply with the requirements thereof within such
period (not being less than twenty-eight days from the service thereof) as may
be specified therein, the highway authority may remove the thing in question,
and the expenses reasonably incurred in so doing shall be recoverable as a
civil debt from the person in default.
(3) Any
person aggrieved by a notice served under this Article may, within the period
specified therein, appeal to the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, either in
or out of term, and the decision of the Court shall be final and without
appeal, but without prejudice to the right of the Inferior Number of the Royal
Court to refer the matter to the Superior Number of the Royal Court.
(4) Where
an appeal under this Article is brought against a notice served thereunder,
paragraph (2) of this Article shall not apply unless the appeal is abandoned or
dismissed, and shall, in that case, have effect as if for the reference therein
to the period specified in the notice there were substituted a reference to
twenty-eight days from the date on which the appeal was abandoned or dismissed.
ARTICLE 6
NOTICES
Any notice authorized to be served under this Law may be served
either –
(a) by delivering it to the
person on whom it is to be served; or
(b) by leaving it at the usual or
last-known place of abode of that person; or
(c) by sending it in a prepaid
letter addressed to that person at his usual or last-known place of abode; or
(d) in the case of a body
corporate or unincorporate, by delivering it to the
secretary or clerk of the body at its registered or principal office or by
sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to the secretary or clerk of the body
at that office; or
(e) if it is not practicable
after reasonable enquiry to ascertain the name and address of an owner of premises
on whom it should be served, or if the premises are unoccupied or the name of
the owner is not known, by addressing it to him by the description of
“owner” of the premises (naming them) to which it relates and by
delivering it to some person on the premises or, if there is no person on the
premises to whom it can be delivered, by affixing it or a copy of it to some
conspicuous part of the premises.
ARTICLE 7
SAVINGS
(1) Nothing
in this Law shall be construed as derogating in any way from the powers of the
Natural Beauties Committee under the Preservation of Amenities (Jersey) Laws,
1952 and 1954.
(2) Nothing
in this Law shall prejudice or affect any rights or powers in existence
immediately before the coming into force of this Law.
(3) Nothing
in this Law shall affect any right of proceeding under any other enactment or
under the customary law.
(4) For
the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that this Law does not apply to
the branches of trees overhanging highways.
ARTICLES 8
REPEALS AND AMENDMENTS
(1) The
following enactments are hereby repealed, namely –
(a) Articles 19A and 20 of the
1914 Law;
(b) Article 30 of the
“Règlement (1956) sur la Police des Chemins et des Endroits
Publics”.
(2) In
Article 41 of the 1914 Law, the words “des rues urbaines”
shall be deleted, and for the words “Un chelin
six pennys” there shall be substituted the
words “cinq chelins”.
(3) In
Article 43 of the 1914 Law, for the
word “Cinq” there shall be substituted
the word “dix”.
(4) In
Article 45 of the 1914 Law,13 for the word “Cinq”
there shall be substituted the word “dix”.
ARTICLE 9
SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT
(1) This
Law may be cited as the Highways (Jersey) Law, 1956.
(2) This
Law shall come into force on the first day of the second month next following that
in which it is promulgated.
To be printed, published and posted.
F. DE L. BOIS,
Greffier of the States.